When we were on the Summit the first time, I am thinking the head chef was Michael Roux. This was maybe 5 or 6 years ago. Probably the head chef was trained by Roux. At any rate, that is when we had what we considered tasteless food! The food on the Equinox was far superior, in our opinion.

Sonny, I never thought about contacting the Hotel Director with a problem. On our one and only Princess cruise, we were very disappointed with the crew. It sounds to me, from Penny's post, that the Princess crew found their way to the Solstice! But, when we had the experience, I never thought about the hotel director. To be treated rudely over and over again is definitely a management problem that needs to be addressed.

Since we haven't booked another cruise yet, I am in the post-cruise blues period. I was surfing today, though, and hopefully will come up with a bargain for a 2010 cruise. Since it is going to be below zero here this weekend, I wish we were cruising NOW!

Welcome Back Penny. And Happy New Year. Thanks for the review on the Solstice. Sorry to hear about the food, etc. Odd, not what I expected to hear about Celebrity. Oh, well, I think I will stick with Princess. During our Xmas cruise the Emerald Princess sat beside the Solstice in St. Maarten and she did look beautiful from the outside. I even saw some balcony cabins that had hot tubs on their balconies. Food is a big part of the cruise experience for us and when I hear bad reviews about the food, well, I definitely think twice about Celebrity.

Food is a big part of the cruise experience for us and when I hear bad reviews about the food, well, I definitely think twice about Celebrity.

You know, I am sitting here thinking about this and I have been a fan of Celebrity for years, never been disappointed, I don't honestly think I would give up on a cruise line completely because of one time, one ship that was just not up to par. My example would be the Celebrity Horizon, now long sold. It was OK, but after the Galaxy to Alaska it wasn't even close. I went on the Constellation next and I was right back loving Celebrity. I too love the nice Dinners and expect top notch on my cruises, it would take more than one time for me to give up.
I had a very different experience on the Solstice and hated hearing that something went wrong, but I'd go again in a heart beat !

Remember for every negative report you can also find a good report. I doubt there's any cruise line that you can't find a negative report; but then find just as many good reports. I have sailed on Celebrity many times and never had a bad cruise. Cruise experiences can change from sailing to sailing with crew changes.

Absolutely. People forget the crew are human beings too and can't always be running on all cylinders. Was the previous cruise hit by rough seas? Maybe none of them got enough sleep, not that they normally do anyway. Was there a norovirus problem last week? The crew pulled double duty to clean the ship, and perhaps some were sick too. Perhaps a new member of management has changed something behind the scenes and caused confusion or discontent. There are dozens of valid reasons for a cruise to be off a bit.

Also, I wasn't trying to be negative, just honest. I also stated they may have been tired from their transatlantic crossing.

Chef Michael Roux was our head chef. I spoke with people who ate in Murano, Tuscan, and Silk Harvest. They said it was better than the dining room, but nothing to write home about. KarenM wrote about the cooking demos. Chef Paul and Chef Mark kept saying that they believed in seasoning, in fact over seasoning, their food. I don't know if that was a subtle hint or not.

The cruise wasn't bad, just not what I had expected since Celebrity had been touted as one of the best. Certainly cursing at your passengers and being rude is not what I imagined. Like I said before, they may have been exhausted. I know our cabin steward was having to run room service to our floor. Sometimes it took her 4 hours to get to rooms, but that wasn't her fault, she was being made to do another job. Sorry to sound negative, but it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

Janfred, the drink packages were only good at certain bars. My hubby bought the liquor package for $360. He ordered a martini at the martini bar and they charged him $15/plus tip. He asked why and was told to go to guest relations, which we did the next day. They said they'd get back to us and never did. I ordered a mudslide at the pool bar and was charged $11/plus tip. The bartender at Michaels explained that it was the size of the glass they used. She put our drinks in the small glasses and did not charge us extra. Also, Ron ordered a beer with his lunch one day and they charged him $7/plus tip. They explained that the alcohol package did not include beer or wine. You had to buy the beer package if you wanted a beer. They could have explained the limitations better so you'd know what to expect and not break the rules.

We still had a wonderful time. The ship was immaculate and beautifully decorated. I doubt this was normal for Celebrity, things happen, and it just happened to be on our cruise. I can now say I've sailed on Celebrity.

Even Princess changed, and not for the better, when they were bought out. However, they still offer a very good product.

I went with a very open mind and still had a wonderful time. I've got many more lines to try. That's what's so wonderful about cruising

And Penny we APPRECIATE your honesty. If there is a problem, or problems on a cruise, we are glad you let us know. You, of course would have a great cruise anywhere, but these things that happen should be shared, along with the good. Glad to have you back, I am NOT purchasing a liquor package, after your experience, and some other feedback. Dave you are right to be perturbed, and I will investigate I assure you.

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